Vol. 574 No. 5
230 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when the missing person helpline was established; the money allocated to the service in each year since first established; if he will continue to fund the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27667/03]
The missing persons helpline has been operating since October 2002. It is a dedicated helpline operated by Victim Support as a counselling and referral service and primary point of contact for the families of missing persons. The helpline provides advice and psychological support for families of missing persons as well as structured liaison with the Garda Síochána. A total of €65,000, including start-up costs, was made available for the helpline by my Department in 2002 and funding of a further €45,000 has been provided in 2003.
A condition of funding was that an independent evaluation would be carried out after the helpline had been in operation for one year. That evaluation is under way and will consider, inter alia, some of the issues raised in the question. When the report of the evaluation is available, my Department will consult Victim Support and the Garda Síochána with a view to deciding how best to proceed.
231 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if Operation Trace has ended and the outcome of the investigation; the Government's response to the issue of missing people; the amount or percentage of the overall budget allocated to the search for missing people over the past five years; his plans to introduce legislation or protocols along the lines of those introduced in the US; the steps his Department has taken to highlight with the public such cases as that of a person (details supplied); the action he has taken with other Ministers within the EU to co-ordinate a European Union response to this issue; if it has ever been discussed at EU level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27669/03]
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the investigations being carried out by the Operation Trace team have been subsumed into the operational investigative work being performed by the national bureau of criminal investigation. New lines of inquiry based on information coming to hand and searches, where required, are carried out by national bureau of criminal investigation personnel in conjunction with local gardaí.
I have set out the position with regard to the response of my Department and the Garda Síochána to the issue of missing persons in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 304 of 1 October 2003. There is no budget allocated specifically for the search for missing persons as this type of duty forms part of normal operational policing. The actual cost incurred could only be determined and obtained with expenditure of an inordinate amount of time and resources.
It is not clear from the Deputy's question whether he has any particular legislation or protocols in the United States in mind, but I am willing to consider any suggestions he may care to make.
In spring 2004, two members of the Garda Síochána will participate in the Garda McCabe fellowship, examining the issues relating to adult and child missing persons. The McCabe fellowship is a charitable foundation run by An Garda Síochána in partnership with John Jay College with the support and participation of the New York Police Department.
With regard to highlighting cases such as that of the persons referred to by the Deputy, the Garda Síochána participates fully with all aspects of the media in highlighting cases involving missing persons. All cases of persons reported missing in suspicious circumstances are subject to ongoing review and investigation. The services of other agencies such as Interpol and Europol are also available to assist the gardaí in missing persons investigations.
